Security has always been a big issue with credit cards. After all, in theory anyone who possesses your card can ring up thousands of dollars in charges to your account. It is amazing though to see the sophisticated security systems in action.
I witnessed these systems in action a few months ago when I got a call at 10:00 one Friday morning from my card company asking if I had my credit card on me. Surprised by the question, I looked in my wallet only to discover it was indeed gone. The amazing thing was that the last time I used my card was at a fast food place at around 11:30 the night before (I must have left it on the counter there and it was picked up by some no good doers).
Somehow, from the pattern of usage the security section of my card company figured out that it matched the pattern of stolen credit cards within 12 hours and knew the card was stolen even before I did. Obviously I wasn't charged for any transactions not performed by me and my card was cancelled on the spot.
Sometimes having a credit card cancelled can be a good opportunity to move to a new card that offers 0% balance transfers. You can find many options for 0% credit cards online.
